Taos County

LANGUAGE

The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.

Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Only English

8,123

38.09%

13,505

47.64%

Spanish

11,819

55.42%

13,113

46.26%

Other Indo-European*

210

0.98%

435

1.53%

Asian Language**

22

0.10%

45

0.16%

Other

1,154

5.41%

1,249

4.41%

Total Population Age 5+

21,328

100.00%

28,347

100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

3,369

25.69%

Other Indo-European*

29

6.67%

Asian Language**

13

28.89%

Other Language

254

20.34%

Total

3,665

12.93%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

2,514

21.27%

Other Indo-European*

8

3.81%

Asian Language**

8

36.36%

Other Language

287

24.87%

Total

2,817

13.21%

* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."

** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.

Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.